Street-sweeping machine



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACOB EDSON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

STREET-SWEEPING MACHINE.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 29,577. dated August 14, 1860.

To all whom, t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JACOB EDSON, of Bost0n, in the county of Suffolk and -State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street-Sweepers; and I do hereby declare that the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, hereinafter referred to, forlns a full and exact specification of the same, whereinI have .set forth the nature and principles of my saidimprovements,by which my invention maybe distinguished from all others of a similar class, together with such parts as I claim and desire to have secured to me by Letters Patent.

The figures of the accompanying plate of drawings represent my improvements.

Figure lis a plan or top View of my improved street-sweeping machine. Fig. 2 is a View of one end of the same. Figs. 3, 4, 5, G, and 7 are detail views of different portions of the machine, to be hereinafter more fully referred to.

The present invention relates to that class of street-sweeping machines in which the dirt is swept into windrows on the pavement, and among the improvements that I have made I will enumerate the following:

First, in all street-sweeping machines a Y difficulty has been experienced by the slipping of the driving wheel or wheels upon the pavements, as their tires soon become worn smooth and do not possess suflicient traction force to successfully operate the working parts of the machinery. I obviate this objection by attaching to the rim of the driving-wheel a series of sectional projections, teeth, or cogs, so attached to the said wheel that they can readily be removed when any of their number become worn and new ones inserted in their place.

Second, my new apparatus is so arranged and operated that I am enabled to drive the machinery and perfectly balance the apparatus with the use of but two wheels instead of four, these two wheels and the broom-shaft,

Third, attaching the brooms directly to their shaft by volute springs, so that they can yield in every direction, and thus adapt themselves perfect-ly to the inequalities of the surface to be swept.

Fourth, in a peculiar arrangement of the traction or driving wheel and the intermediate device by which motionis communicated to the machinery, whereby the traction force of the rim of the wheel is conveyed in one and the same straight line to the said intermediate device instead of having them in dierent planes, whereby I am enabled to convey power in the best and most direct manner to the machinery and prevent the lateral vibration or play of the driving-wheel which would otherwise occur, and also greatly economize the space occupied by the apparatus.

Fifth, a new arrangement ot' devices whereby the broom-shaft, while being susceptible of being raised and lowered, is yet provided with an accurate and firm bearing, so as to prevent it from wabbling.

Sixth, in raising and sustaining the broomshaft by means of two bands, one of which is elastic and the other non-elastic, or otherwise so arranged that while the brooms are in operation the broom-shaft is sustained by the elastic band, and when raised and out of operation by the non-elastic or other band, the object being to relieve the strain upon the elastic band, so as not to impair its elastic force when the brooms are not in use.

I have also made other im provements,which will be fully explainedin the sequel. i

a a a in the drawings represent the supporting frame-work of my new street-sweeping apparatus.

b b is a broom-shaft, upon which are hung by volute springs c c the brooms d d, arranged in a screw or screw-propeller shape, as shown. rIhe volute springs c c are attached to the shaft b b at e and taper each way from this point to circular plates or rings f f, to which the broom-stocks g g are fastened. By thus attaching the brooms to the broom-shaft by means of the springs c c it will be seen that they are free to yield in every direction and that they will bear with an elastic yielding pressure upon the surface to be swept, so as to conform to all the inequalities of the same.

The broom-shaft Z) b has a bearing at one end of the machine in an arm h h, jointed at 1l, and at its opposite end, outside of the casing or frame-work ct a, in a swinging bar 7c k, one end of which bears in a vertically-grooved standard ZZ, while the other end of the swinging bar 7a 7o terminates in a curved plate m,

Figs. 2, 3, and G, which plays around a fixedV collar n, fastened to the frame-work a a by braces, that forms the bearin gs to a short shaft o, upon which is a gear-wheel p, to be hereinafter referred to. That the broom-shaft Z) Z) may be free to be raised or lowered, according as the brooms are to operate or not, slots q Q are formed in the casing a a, so as'to allow of the vertical play of the shaft. `By thus forming a bearing to the shaft I) ZJ in the grooved standard Z Z all lateral movement or vibration will be prevented, which would otherwise occur if the broom-shaft Z9 b had a sufiiciently loose bearing in the casing a a to allow of its being raised and lowered. To raise and lower the broom-shaft, I use an endless screw Pr' 0*, that engages with a gear-wheel s on a horizontal shaft t t, to the ends of which are attached straps u u, that are fastenedone to the swinging bar 7e 7c near the broom-shaft b Z) and the other to the arm h, before referred to. To each of the straps u u is fastened an elastic band Q; fu, attached to the swinging bar k 7o and arm 77, at a point more remote from the center of the broom-shaft b b than the straps u a. Thus as the swinging bar 7c 7c and arm 7L turn upon the broom-shaft as a center the broom-shaft when lowered will be sustained only by an elastic bearing-viz., the elastic bands Q; n-the object of which arrangement is to be able to provide-for holding the brooms at the exact height desired, so as to regulate the amount of pressure they shall exert upon the surface to be swept; but as the brooms frequently are lifted entirely from the pavement the broom-shaft when so raised by the action of the endless screw r and gear s will, as will be evident from the foregoing explanation, be sustained by the straps u fu., thereby relieving the strain from the bands t fu, so as to prevent their elastic force being impaired by a constant tension upon them. v w fw is the driving-wheel, upon the rim of which are fastened,by screws or otherwise, a series of projecting pieces, teeth, or cogs .fr 00, &c. Thus, while affording an efficient holding-surface upon the pavement, the sectional pieces :r die., can, as fast as any of their number become worn, be readily removed and new ones inserted in their place. The driving-wheel w w is placed upon a short shaft y, placed behind the broom-shaft Z) l), and so that it will make an acute angle therewith instead of a right angle.

a a is a supporting-wheel placed parallel to the driving-wheel upon an axle b h in front of the broom-shaft. By thus arranging the wheels w u' and a a and the broom-shaft h with regard to each other the whole width of the machine, which is thus perfectly balanced upon two wheels, can be occupied by the brooms, which, moreover, can thus sweep close up to the edge stone, which could not be the case if the two wheels were arranged at right angles to the broom-shaft. The driving-wheel fw w is made in a dish shape, as shown in Fig. 5, and has formed on or attached to its concave surface a gear-wheel c', the shaft or axle 1 1/ serving as a center to both. By inspection of Fig. 5 it will be seen that the center of the teeth of the wheel c and that of the teeth of the driving-wheel w are on one and the same straight line, so that the power received at the rim of the wheel can be communicated in a direct line to the wheel c', and thus prevent the wabbling of the driving-wheel. The economy of room gained by this arrangement, as it enables the drivingwheel to be placed close up to the casing or frame-work of the machine, will be manifest. The gear-wheel c gives motion to the gear p, before referred t0, on the shaft o of which is a sliding clutch cZ,`which can be moved forward and back laterally, so that its teeth will engage with or be disengaged from a toothed wheel e by means of a hand-lever f. The wheel e communicates motion to a similar wheel g on the broom-shaft l) Z) by means of a chain h. The speed of the broom-shaft can be regulated by having a series of different sized toothed wheels e g or otherwise.

By forming a bearing to the swinging bar on the fixed collar n, that is sustained by braces attached to the frame-work a a, as hereinbefore described, the weight of the broom-shaft is prevented from being supported by the axle o of the gear-wheel p, which it is evident would occasion great friction upon the said axle and prevent the gear p from being easily revolved by the drivingwheel, whereas by the arrangement described the weight and pressure of the broom-shaft are transferred to the fixed collar that is sustained independently of the axle o, thus leaving the wheel p free to move.

To prevent the jar of the supporting-wheel a a from being communicated to the framework of the machine, it is hung in a peculiar manner, its axle b ZJ being hung in a hinged frame-work 7e Z, consisting of a longitudinal shaft m m', hinged at n and extending into a bent arm o, hinged at p to a stationary arm q. The axle b b also bears against a rubber spring r. By this means the jar of the wheel a a is not received directly by the frame-work of the machine, but is received by the hinged frame-work 7c Z', tbc., as described.

In some cases where the pavement to be swept is very wet it is very desirable to scrape up the dirt, as it can not readily be taken up by the brooms, and as in my machine it is necessary to convey the dirt to the edge stone or gutter of the road or street I use for this purpose and between the brooms one or more scrapers s s', arranged in the form of ascrewpropeller. These effectually take and convey to the side of the street to be swept such dirt as is too heavy to be taken up by the brooms. v

Having thus described my improvements, I shall state my claims as follows: Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to have secured to me by Letters Patent, is-

1. Forming the rim of the driving-wheel with a series of sectional projections, teeth, or cogs that are susceptible of being removed and replaced when Worn at pleasure, substantially as described.

2. Arranging the broom-shaft?) h diagonally with and across the line of the driving-wheel w w and supporting-wheel a a', as described and represented in the drawings, so as to easily balance the apparatus, however heavy the brooms and their shaft may be, with the use of but two wheels, permit Jthe greatest possible width of broom being obtained, and enable.

the brooms to sweep close up to the'edge stone, as set forth.

3. Attaching the brooms directly to their shaft by means ot the volute springs c c, so that they will bear with an elastic yielding pressure upon and adapt themselves to the inequalities of the surface to be swept.

4. The arrangement of the dish-shaped driv Vitnesses:

JOSEPH GAVETT, A. W. BROWN. 

